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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Opinion time, to help clarify a nagging question could our members give their thoughts on just how good these models are? I think there are several who have them.
Thanks. |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | One of the very best guitars I have ever played. They sound spectacular. They play wonderfully. I recently posted in another thread...that if I could have only one guitar, the FD14 would be the one...even in front of my Lowden.
One of the truely incredible characteristics is that it responds very well to fingerstyle, but you CANNOT overplay it strumming agressively with a pick. It will take everything you give it. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | To be be honest, I don't even know what an FD-14 is. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | I've only seen them in pictures but I know everyone here who has played one can't say enough good about them. I'm really hoping that there's one at the Tour so I can play and hear it for myself (as well as a Ute, 1537, a 12 fret, a few A's, etc...). |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | The only one I ever played was the one (that TonyPD eventually WON) on the first OFC Tour.
Killer Guitar!
THIS woulda' been the the guitar to make the ultra-trad Martin/Taylor fops shut the f@ck up . . .
Making just a limited number was a mistake on Ovations's part (imho). |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Cliff,
Having one of the few, it does feel sorta special...but, I agree with you...this should be a standard available model. Everyone who wants one should be able to have one.
...And Weez...you can bet that there will be at least one FD14, one 1537 and one (if I can convince Schroeder to bring it) Ute at the tour... |
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December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | I guess I will be the contrarian here. I have played probably 5 or 6 examples of this guitar. I thought it was very good but could have been much better.
the u681t was much better IMHO for that type of guitar. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Al;
I heartily agree with you on that.
But, in my warped sense of thinking, they're two different "animals". Given a choice of the two, I'd take the Ute . . .
My comment was geared towards a more traditional, small-bodied, roundhole, wood-topped guitar . . . |
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April 2003
Posts: 65
Location: Connecticut | I've played more Ovations than most people will ever see and the FD-14 has the best acoustic sound of all the Ovations that I have played.That is the reason that it is one of the few that I have kept over the years of the many O's I have owned. I don't ever play plugged in so all of the electronics mean nothing to me but added weight. |
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June 2002
Posts: 6192
Location: Phoenix AZ | As FDR once said "March 7, 2003 is a day that will live in infamy". Check the vault and you'll see that this is the day I aquired my FD14. And I bought it without ever hearing it first!
The general reaction from the members was WTF is THAT? I have always been a hyge fan of the Josh White and when I saw the first FD14 and read Ovations press release about it, I just KNEW that this guitar had all the right incredients to be a superstar. Little by little others heard the same call and I would say that now the FD14 is legendary.
It is THE best sounding wood topped Ovation guitar I have ever heard. PERIOD. I have played it side by side with all the contenders. Better than any 1537. Better than any Custom Legend. Better than any LX. Better than any Shiny Bowl. It's just THE best.
Al, with all due respect, compares it to the U681 and he likes the U681 better. That's fine, but I would venture to say that is because he relates better to the Adamas type of sound (they have their own unique voice, and the U681 is top of the heap). The FD14 does NOT sound like any Adamas. It sounds like a wooden guitar, very much in the Martin sense of the word. The clarity and voice are crystal clear and it can be delicately fingerpicked or thumped on with full might. It never breaks up. If you have not done so already, drop it into DADGAD. Warning, empty your bowels first or the FD14 will do it for you!
With all due respect to Charlie and all the wonderful inventions like round backs, fiber tops, multi-holes, blah, blah, blah ... The FD14 is THE most significant acomplishment that Ovation has ever achieved. And I mean this from the bottom of my heart. The FD14 is THE last Ovation in my collection that I would ever part with.
Dave
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/non-cgi/ultimatebb.php?ub... |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Owning both the Ute and the FD14, I've had ample opportunity to play both. They are very different guitars and both are fabulous...
I think most folks would choose the Ute, given the choice, but I'll stand by my earlier post...If I could only have one guitar...It'd be the FD14...
When I first got the FD, initially I wasn't all that impressed by it, but over time I've come to love it.
EDIT...RE initial impressions- it took some time to find the right strings for it |
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July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | I was lucky enough to be able to play the one that Elderly Instruments had on two occasions before they sold it. I was unlucky enough for my wife to veto my getting it before it got away. I was a bit of a newbie on guitar playing at that point, but even so, I knew it was the best sounding guitar I had ever played. It still is.
My wife vetoed it because it looked so PLAIN, as far as rosette, and the top was not glossed. A fair viewpoint, compared to the fancy Custom Legend that was there at the time, which was around the same price. The FD-14 didn't seem to live up to the price in anything but SOUND.
I haven't played a U681T, it might be as good or better. My richest-sounding guitar is my 2005 Collectors, with new strings(sound quality falls off as the strings age, fairly rapidly).
Added by edit: A thought...why can't one order a Folklore with a cedar top, etc. and get all the features of an FD-14???? It wouldn't be one of the 50 FD-14s, but it WOULD be equivalent in quality.
Roger |
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March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | The current Folklore is a 14 fret slothead, the FD14 a 12 fret.
Jeff, what strings did you end up with on your FD14?
Currently, this guitar stands alone on my short list of guitars that I really want to own. I've been authorized by my wife to grab it when one becomes available.
I'm not a fan of the tortise shell binding and rosette. If I could have one to my specs, I'd put wood binding around the body, gloss the neck and headstock, and I don't know what I'd do regarding the rosette. Heck, I don't even know if I'd want electronics in it. It's not a guitar that I'd be taking out to plug in.
But I'm a huge fan of the sound. When I get one, it will be my "front porch" guitar. My "go jam with friends" guitar. I will feel like my collection is pretty damned complete. |
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August 2004
Posts: 709
Location: Germany | It sounds very different compared to all the other Ovations I have played. Somehow it's a merge of an O and a high-end wooden guitar. Very suitable for finger picking style with a tremendous acoustic sound.
But I prefer a different O for (acoustic) strumming: the Deluxe Balladeer.
Karl |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Paul,
I've got Elixir 13s nanowebs. The guitar sounds exactly like I want it to sound...
I am a fan of the Tortoise shell rosette and binding. I think it is a very elegant guitar.
Might I add, it has the best neck of any Ovaton (very similar to the Ute) I have played. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Karl, what strings did you put on your DB? |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Bill,
You ask this question like there's something on your mind???? Pray, tell! |
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October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | I thought the same thing, Jeff. With any luck, we're being baited here... |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I have to say that Dave and Jeff covered all the bases perfectly.
The FD14 is the best sounding wood top Ovation has ever made.
Since I have never had the opportunity to play one of the original slothead Adamas guitars, I would have to vote for the U681T as the best sounding Adamas. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Jeff, I normally play 12's. How heavy do the 13's feel and did you have to make any adjustments when you put them on? |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Stephen,
The 13s take some gedtting used to, but I hardly notice any more. I can go from the Lowden, which has lights, to the Fudd and hardly notice. I didn't need to make any adjustments, the 13's went right on without problems. |
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August 2004
Posts: 709
Location: Germany | Paul, I still play the Elixir 12's you put on the DB. No need to change them, they seem to last forever (well, nearly ...).
By the way: Did you see the DB picture in the "Merry Christmas Everyone" thread?
Karl |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Baiting? ME??!? mais non! (well maybe........) |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | you're evil. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | It's for a very good cause, you'll see. |
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FD-14; How good are they, Really?
